11. Implications and applications¶
It still seems too early to make any decision. However, I questioned if I should focus on Art or Design? Let's start from the beginning.
During my exchange studies back in 2011 in Textile in the Vilnius Art Academy, I instantly fell in love with textile art form. Textile as design was always there, but that was not what made me excited, it was simply all about threads and fibers, especially in combination with paper. Throughout the Fabricademy experience I most enjoyed Biochromes, Biomaterials and Wearables weeks and looking forward to Soft Robotics and Skin Electronics. We were getting further an further from what I liked about textiles in the fist place, but the new road seemed very intriguing as well. From the start of the program I was sure I would want to make an awareness piece. I have always considered myself a migrant, due to the choices of my ancestors. I moved in search of something that seems to be confidential. My memory doesn't always open up to me. Where does that start? Possibly childhood trauma. Later overtaking my body in the form of epilepsy. The problem is - you probably have no idea that there are many kinds of epilepsy. The kind I have is called Temporal Lobe Epilepsy or Simple Partial Epilepsy and the symptoms might be different than the ones you imagine them to be. - Interical Behaviours of TLE
"Essentially, anything the brain can do, it can do in the form of a seizure."
Research¶
I have been fascinated by works which relate to the action of grounding.
Compression Cradle by Lucy McRae and many of her other works force the human body to merge, mutate, dissolve within the material.
Post Apocalyptic Sherpas
Bart Hess - Shaved
Dissolved things take form of their new molds. When flowing they might clog the exit. - How wide is the threshold? - How much more can I bear?
Threshold
"\ˈthresh-ˌhōld\ Definition of threshold noun 1. A piece of wood or stone placed beneath a door; a doorsill. 2. Either end of an airport runway. 3. The place or point of beginning; the outset: on the threshold of a new era. 4. The point that must be exceeded to begin producing a given effect or result or to elicit a response: a low threshold of pain
What is TLE?¶
TLE stands for Temporal Lobe Epilepsy.
There are two types of focal seizures, each of which has its own distinct signs and symptoms, as follows:
Focal aware seizures (previously called simple partial seizures without loss of awareness) means that the level of consciousness does not change during the seizure; abnormal sensations may be all that occurs. The site of this seizure is localized to a small area of the temporal lobe. These seizures last from a few seconds to 2 minutes.
Signs and symptoms of focal aware seizures include:
- Déjà vu (a feeling of familiarity), a memory, or jamais vu (a feeling of unfamiliarity) Sudden sense of fear or anxiety, anger, sadness, joy
- A rising sick feeling in the stomach (the feeling you get in your gut riding a roller coaster)
- Altered sense of hearing, sight, smell, taste, or touch
- Visual distortions (objects are larger or smaller than they actually are)
- Difficulty speaking or inability to speak
Focal impaired awareness seizures (previously called complex partial seizures with loss of awareness) means that the level of consciousness is impaired to some degree. The person cannot interact with the surrounding environment as they normally could. The site of this seizure is a localized area but then spreads to other areas of the temporal lobe, causing the impaired awareness.
These seizures tend to have an aura before they occur. An aura is a “warning sign” that happens before this type of seizure occurs. The aura is actually considered a seizure itself – it is a focal aware seizure – that, in this case, has progressed to a focal impaired awareness seizure.
These seizures last from 30 seconds to 2 minutes.
Signs and symptoms of focal impaired awareness seizures include:
- Staring
- Repetitive behaviors and movements (called automatisms) of the hands (such as fidgeting, picking motions), eyes (excessive blinking), and mouth (lip smacking, chewing, swallowing)
- Confusion
- Unusual speech; altered ability to respond to others
- Brief loss of ability to speak, read, or comprehend the spoken word.
Project Pitch¶
My project "Threshold" focuses on the symptoms of focal aware and focal impaired awareness seizures and their spatial visualization through performance and detachable informative soft-robotics pieces, which can be taken by the audience home to be explored in free time and used as a relaxation tool. Since this type of seizures were seen as daydreaming people around me for many years, whilst I fell deeper and deeper into space of "the unknown" I want to take people to reenact and present visually the most common symptoms while physically closed in a shape-changing bubble with 2mt/6ft tubes connecting to the outer soft fort. The outer layer reacts to the audience using proximity sensors by inflating when people get closer and deflating when distanced. My goal is to show the diversity of inner experiences, the spectrum from ghastly to ecstatic, yet being aesthetically intriguing to the eye.
Inspiration¶
Body: - Julie Taris' Final project - Brainbit EEG - EEG on Mobile phone
Cheung's inflatable anxiety wearable
Mythology: - Zaltys Mythology